TREK DES GUÉRISSEURS
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The trek of the Healers will certainly satisfy the most demanding hiker. The first step is to follow the eastern flank of the Apolobamba range from end to end, between 4,000 and 5,000 m in altitude, in a region that is difficult to access and therefore very little visited. We take ancient Inca paths. The path is permanently bordered on the left by glaciers and on the right by deep valleys that plunge towards the Amazon. As for the physical difficulty, it is true that some climbs to high passes (between 4,700 and 5,100 m) require the best of everyone, but the beauty of the landscapes and the particular atmosphere of the Kallawayas lands will largely compensate for the efforts made. One of the most beautiful Andean treks in Bolivia.
Duration: between 6 and 9 days.
Difficulty: about 6 to 7 hours of walking per day.
Day 1: join Charazani by 4x4 at 3 200 m. After several passes, we finally see the impressive Apolobamba mountain range and its imposing summit, the Akamani (5666 m). For those who are in a vehicle, it is possible to sleep at the comfortable Lagunillas hostel, a few hundred meters before the village of Curva (3 780 m).
Day 2: start of the trek. The village of Curva is still very authentic. The Kallawayas have recently created the "healers' hospital" where practitioners still treat with plants from the region. This hospital is open to the public. At the exit of Curva, 5 hours of walking will take you to the Incacancha valley, perfect place for the first bivouac.
Day 3: Departure in the morning for the " mil curvas " pass, the pass with a thousand turns (in reality, barely 200, but a steep pass all the same). We reach a small lagoon where the silence of the surrounding mountains is sovereign. Passing a second pass, the Viscachani pass (4,825 m); then descent to Sunchulli, a gold mining region where miners still work, continuing the crazy history of the Spanish crown's gold rush. Possibility to bivouac at the exit of the village.
Day 4 : in the morning, the Sunchulli pass, at more than 5 000 m. From the pass, view of an imposing glacier which dominates a magnificent lagoon. In the early afternoon, we cross a second pass (Koppe pass, 4,930 m) where you will enjoy the lunar landscapes of the Azanjoce valley. After 2 hours of frantic descent, we reach the Pauchi Cocho camp at 3 700 m.
Day 5 : descent into the Hilo HIlo valley and a long climb of 5 hours to reach the Pelechuco pass (4 900 m). View on the imposing Katantica which dominates the Pelechuco valley from its 5 560 m.